Systems and methods for distributing information to a diverse plurality of devices

ABSTRACT

The present invention allows a customer to use any of a number of a plurality of devices to access data and make transactions using an institution&#39;s computers and databases from many different locations throughout the world. As an example, a banking customer may use either a telephone, a palm computer or a television to determine his checking account balance while vacationing in a foreign country. The present invention operates by connecting the customer to the desired computer and database using universal protocol so that location becomes irrelevant. Another feature of the present invention is the efficient use of different networks with varying transmission speeds.

CONTINUING DATA

This application claims priority to U.S. provisional application No.60/113,632 entitled “SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR DISTRIBUTING INFORMATION TOA DIVERSE PLURALITY OF DEVICES” filed on Dec. 22, 1998, which isincorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to servers, routers and access devices andmethods that a customer uses to obtain information. The methods andsystems described deliver this information to a plurality of diversedevices such that each device displays the correct information in aformat commensurate with its own design.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Customers use a plurality of devices to access data about themselves andreceive information about goods and services offered by corporations,banks and organizations. For example, customers use telephones to callinto a bank's system in order to determine their credit card balancesand like information using a system as shown in FIG. 1.

Customer 1 uses his telephone 2 to call into the bank's system. He usesa specific phone number like a “1-800” number to get connected to thebank's system via the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) 3. ThePSTN completes a connection via interconnection path 10 between thecustomer's phone 2 and the bank's Computer Telephony Integration (CTI)server 4. The CTI server 4 holds some basic generic information andinterfaces with the customer 1 via the PSTN 3 and phone 2. Examples ofsuch information are greetings and menu options such as “Press 1 foraccount balance” etc.

If the customer 1 requests specific information to his own account, suchas the balance, the CTI server 4 accesses a database (DB) server 5. Thedatabase server 5 retrieves information from the database 6 and providesit via interconnection path 11 to the CTI server 4 which then forwardsit to the customer 1 via the PSTN 3 and telephone 2. Typically, the CTIserver 4 performs a translation on the data it receives from thedatabase server 5. This transformation is one from digital data to acomputer generated voice. Thus, if the CTI server 4 receives the number“1,500” it will translate this into a computer generated voice messagein the form of “Your balance is one-thousand five hundred dollars.” Thiscomputer generated message is received and listened to by the customer 1via the PSTN 3 and phone 2 which are designed to transmit and receiveaudio based data.

Should customer 1 desire to speak to a customer service representative8, he merely makes the appropriate menu selection using his telephone 2and the CTI server 4 switches him to the customer service representative8 via telephone 9. The customer service representative 8 makes datarequests to and receives data from database 6 via the database server 5and a client/terminal 7. In this manner, the customer servicerepresentative 8 can obtain the customer's account balance directly fromthe database 6.

This system is efficient but it does suffer from several drawbacks.First, data is communicated to the customer 1 in an audio format. Thusif the customer wants to use a hard copy of the data, he must write downthe information on a piece of paper as the CTI server 4 “speaks” to him.

Second, the use of the menu system can be quite cumbersome. Most menusare branching structures such that in order to find some information,the customer must make 5 or 6 menu selections before obtaining thedesired information. This is inefficient as the customer must listen toa plurality of computer generated prompts and make a number ofselections via a keypad on the phone 2 (not shown) before receiving thedesired information.

Another problem with the phone system described above is the inabilityto switch between a plurality of database server 5. For example, if thecustomer calls the phone number assigned to the credit card system, hewill be unable to switch over to any other database 6 or CTI server 4 toreceive information regarding student loans or home mortgages. Thus, inorder to receive a wide variety of financial information, the customer 1will have to make a plurality of phone calls to a plurality of differentCTI servers 4.

Another problem with this system is in using the phone numbersthemselves to access the system. This problem becomes more acute if thecustomer travels internationally. If the customer is in London, forexample, and he desires to learn his credit card balance, he must dialthe United States number associated with a particular CTI server 4 inorder to get the credit card system. This requires him to know thenumber and the international calling codes. It may also require thecustomer to incur substantial expense in making an international call.

FIG. 2 shows another system customers use to obtain information. Thesystem of FIG. 2 is an internet system where the customer uses hispersonal computer (PC) 20 to receive Web pages.

In this system, the customer 1 typically must use an Internet ServiceProvider (ISP) to obtain access to the Internet. One popular example ofsuch an ISP is America Online™. The ISP maintains servers and localnetworks 21 for acting as conduits to the Internet. The customer 1 payseither a flat fee or an hourly fee to use the ISP's equipment to obtainaccess to the Internet. The ISP provides the customer 1 with a phonenumber that the customer uses to dial into the ISP's equipment via thePSTN 3. Once the connection between the ISP equipment and the customer'sPC 20 is established, the customer must type in the address of thecompany's or institution's Web pages and use a Web browser to retrievethat page through the Internet 22.

The company or institution maintains its Web pages on an Internet server23. The Internet server 23 “builds” the Web pages the customer sees andforwards them to the customer's PC 20 via interconnection path 24, theInternet 22, the ISP equipment 21 and PSTN 3. When the customer requestsspecific information such as an account balance, the request gets routedvia interconnection path 25 to the database server 5′ and to thedatabase 6 to provide the required data. The Internet server 23retrieves the needed data from the database server 5′ and places theappropriate graphics and colors around the data, formats all of thisdata and forwards it to the customer's PC 20 over the path describedabove.

This system is better than the phone system described above in that itprovides data that is easily printable such that the customer does nothave to write information down. Additionally, the customer may alsoreceive data in parallel. For example, the customer can learn what hiscurrent credit card balance is and the payment address on the samescreen. Thus, the customer does not have to listen to a series ofmessages to obtain all of the desired information.

The above system also suffers from some disadvantages. First, therelative speed in which data is transmitted to the PC 20 is relativelyslow. This is because Web pages are designed for high resolutioncomputer screens. There is therefore a lot of pixel data within each Webpage. On top of this fact is the general design of the Internet. TheInternet is based on a “thin client” type architecture. This means thatthe servers do most of the work in organizing Web pages such that thehome PC does not need to work very hard in assembling the image data. Ittakes a fair amount of time for the bank's Internet server 23 to compilethe data onto one such screen, format it for transmission and transmitit. The Internet, the ISP equipment and the PSTN 3 also have theirtransmission latencies in forwarding data which only adds to the delaycreated by the bank's Internet server 23.

Second, this method of forwarding data is also inefficient. Practicallyevery Web page is comprised of both generic material as well as customerspecific material. For example, the words “Account Balance” are genericto just about every screen viewed by every customer but the actualbalance itself, say “$1,500,” is specific to each customer. Thus, thebank's Internet server 23 is continually building and formatting thesame data time after time during the course of the day. This isinefficient utilization of the bank's Internet server 23.

Third, typically the entire Web page is encrypted when transmitted. Thisagain is inefficient utilization of the bank's Internet server 23.Nonproprietary information such as the words “Account Balance” areencrypted and decrypted when the only information that needs to beencrypted and decrypted is the actual dollar amount.

Another device customers use to access data and money is an AutomaticTeller Machine (“ATM”) or Customer Access Terminal (“CAT”). In thesedevices, customers insert magnetic cards or smart cards, type in aPersonal Identification Number and access various banking services.

While ATMs have become more prevalent in today's society theyadditionally suffer from some drawbacks. The first is the customer mustfind an ATM in order to use it. Thus if the customer is in a remotearea, it is likely that an ATM will not be nearby.

In addition, the ATM network is generally limited to financial services.In other words, the machines are use specific for financial information.Most ATMs are not equipped to handle shopping or purchasing of goods andservices because the programming within the ATMs is limited and thenetwork coupling the ATMs to bank computers is also limited.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention solves the problems discussed above. Inparticular, the present invention provides global, universal access tovarious bank services, purchasing of goods and services and data.

Second, the methods and systems of the present invention also providefor much faster display times in that only portions of data aretransmitted through a network. This saves time in both having aconventional server format the data and in transmitting that data over anetwork.

Third, the format the user receives his data in depends on the accessdevice he is using rather than the actual server he accesses. In thismanner, the user need only connect to the most convenient gateway accessdevice to obtain the data he desires rather than cumbersomely obtaininga network path through various other services.

Fourth, the connection a customer makes with the desired server is basedupon a unique customer identifier number. This allows a customer to useany of a plurality of devices in any of a plurality of locations aroundthe world, and still be routed to the correct computer database toreceive the desired information without having to know internationalcalling numbers or incur significant costs.

These features and advantages, as well as others not specificallymentioned above, are apparent from the non-limiting detailed descriptionof the embodiments of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and form part ofthe specification, illustrate preferred embodiments of the presentinvention and, together with the description, disclose the principles ofthe invention.

FIG. 1 is system overview of a conventional phone system.

FIG. 2 is a system overview of a conventional Internet system.

FIG. 3 is a system overview according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 4 is a system overview according to another embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 5 is a system overview according to another embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIGS. 6 and 7 are flowcharts of processes in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 3 is an overview of the system of a preferred embodiment of thepresent invention. Databases 6 a, 6 b and 6 c hold data on a pluralityof customers of one corporation or institution such as a bank. In FIG.3, database 6 a holds data associated with US customers of a particularservice such as checking and savings accounts. Database 6 b holds creditcard data, but instead holds that data for Spanish customers. Database 6c holds data associated with US credit card customers. Database hosts 5a, 5 b and 5 c retrieve and forward data from and to databases 6 a-6 c,respectively. These hosts process the queries and format them so thedatabases store and retrieve data correctly. In addition, the hosts 5a-5 c also format the data received from the databases 6 a-6 c so thatthe data returned from the databases 6 a-6 c the appropriate answer fitsinto fields. In other words, in response to a request for an accountbalance, the hosts 5 a-5 c put the actual dollar amount in the correctfield so that the person requesting the account balance knows thisnumber corresponds to the account balance. Hosts 5 a-5 c process simplequeries such as retrieve the credit card balance for customer number1234 5678 0123 45678. Hosts 5 a-5 c distinguish between the customernumber and the request for the type of data desired in order to buildthe appropriate queries.

In a preferred embodiment, hosts 5 a-5 c operate using a standardTransaction Processing System (“TPS”) that is human languageindependent. This allows hosts 5 a-5 c to share and swap data as will bedescribed later. Alternative embodiments of hosts 5 a-5 c operate usingSanchez, SFS and BAFES.

Banking servers 30 a-30 c translate requests for data into instructionshosts 5 a-5 c understand. As will be described in more detail later, thebanking servers 30 a-30 c receive messages and translate those messagesinto queries for specific pieces of data. In a preferred embodiment, themessages conform to the SSL standard. In addition, these serverssometimes provide additional text data along with the data received fromhosts 5 a-5 c such that the data received from hosts 5 a-5 c is givencontext so that the user understands what he/she is viewing (i.e., “OurPayment Address is ______”). Servers 30 a-30 c operate using HSDS orNTDS in a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Routers 31 a-c route messages between each other, banking servers 30a-30 c and Access Gateways 32 a and 32 b. These routers receive messagesand simply route these messages to the correct destination. Part of therouter connections include T1 lines, Internet connection, or LANconnections for interconnecting servers 30 a-30 c to access gateways 32a and 32 b in preferred embodiments.

Access Gateways 32 a and 32 b formulate simple instructions forrequesting data that is interpreted by banking servers 30 a-30 c. Inaddition, Access Gateways 32 a and 32 b take the data retrieved from thedatabases 6 a-6 c and format it such that the access devices 2 and 33display it to the customer in logical manner.

An access device is any piece or pieces of hardware and software thatmay receive data inputs from a user, or that transmit and receivemessages, and display or otherwise output data to the customer. One suchaccess device is a mobile radiotelephone 2 such as a GSM phone. Some ofthese phones contain small Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) screens. TheAccess Gateway 32 a takes the data it receives, bundles it into packetsthat are compatible with a format such as Short Message Service (SMS) orWireless Access Protocol (WAP) and forwards it to the appropriate mobileradiotelephone network for transmission to mobile radiotelephone 2. Itshould be noted that a preferred embodiment of the present inventionutilizes mobile radiotelephones, other telephones such as desktop screenphones that are coupled to the PSTN via land lines are also within thescope of the present invention.

The plurality of access devices also receive data in different dataformats. For example, many telephones 2 receive and process ASCII datatransmitted from access gateway 32.

Another access device is a combination television and set-top box 34.The set-top box 34 receives signals from a satellite dish 35 thatreceives signals from satellite 36. Satellite 36 receives signals fromsatellite 37 which is coupled to Access Gateway 32 b. In this example,if the data received from databases 6 a-6 c is displayed on televisionmonitor 33, the data is put into a screen template which providesgraphics around the data to fill in the entire screen. This data istransmitted via satellite dish 37 to satellite 36 which forwards thescreen data to satellite 35. The set-top box 34 decrypts,demodulates/decodes and forwards the data to television monitor 33 forviewing by the customer along with template data so as to form acomprehensive image as will be described later. In an alternativeembodiment, the satellite link comprising satellites 35 and 36 isreplaced with a direct cable connection or standard television broadcastmethods.

From this overview, a few advantages of the present invention arereadily apparent. First, due to the network paths between the routers 31a-31 c, any user can get access to any database he/she desires using anyaccess device he/she chooses. Second, a plurality of different databasescan be accessed at one time during one communications session. Third,the formatting of data for the customer's particular access device isperformed relatively late in the process (i.e., typically by accessgateways 32 a and 32 b) such that data is not needless sent over anetwork. Fourth, the banking servers 30 a-30 c can be used by aplurality of access devices such as phones and computers instead ofbeing designed to handle requests from a specific type of access device.Fifth, due to the universality of the overall architecture, anindividual may request data using one access device (e.g., telephone)and have information pushed from one server (e.g., credit cards in theUnited States) to another customer using another access device (e.g., atelevision) or another server (e.g., checking account server in Spain).This relatively simple message transferring can be done by the firstcustomer making the correct request and letting the architecture do therest.

Beyond these advantages, the system shown in FIG. 3 is designed to takeadvantage of both current networking technology as well as oldernetworking technology. As shown in FIG. 3, some of the variouscomponents are interconnected using satellites 36, 38 and 39. This is anexample of a system taking advantage of the latest in both digital andanalog satellite communication technologies. In addition, the componentsshown in FIG. 3 may also be interconnected using land lines, fiber opticlines, or mobile radiotelephone communications systems. Alternatively,the system shown in FIG. 3 may take advantage of a plurality of manytypes of such networking devices and technologies.

These advantages are obtained by the features of the system shown inFIG. 3. For example, the output data of servers 30 a-30 c are universal,such that access gateways 32 a or 32 b can interpret that output dataand forward it to the access device desired in the proper format. Thus,a customer in Spain may retrieve requested data (i.e., account balance)on telephone 2 or television 33 via set-top box 34. The actual accountbalance data is stored in database 6 b, where it is universalized byserver 30 b before it is specialized for delivery to the particularaccess device 2 or 33 via access gateway 32 a or 32 b.

By formatting this data late in the network path, much of the redundantor unnecessary data need not be transmitted through the network. This isespecially true when using template data, as will be described later.For instance, only the data representing “1,500” is transmitted toset-top box 34 where it is combined with the template data “Your AccountBalance Is” before displaying it on television 33.

The universality of the output data from server 30 a and 30 b alsoallows multiple accesses to multiple databases and reporting of thetransaction to any of a plurality of devices. For example, a customeruses phone 2 to authorize an electronic transfer from his savingsaccount in the United States to a family member in Spain. A customeruses telephone 2 to make the transaction. Server 30 a outputs the dollaramount, destination account number received from the customer, andinstructions indicating that the next server 30 b is to accept thismoney as a deposit. This data is forwarded to banking server 30 b viadistribution routers 31 a and 31 b. Bank server 30 b translates theinstructions into deposit instructions that host computer 5 bunderstands. Server 30 b converts the amount to the desired localcurrency and forwards it for deposit into host computer 5 b. After hostcomputer 5 b makes the deposit into database 6 b, it triggers server 30b to inform the recipient. Server 30 b builds a message informing therecipient of the money received, which is then forwarded and displayedon television 33 via set-top box 34 for the money recipient's viewing.

FIG. 4 is another view of an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4shares similar reference numerals to FIG. 3. More specifically, hostcomputer 5 in FIG. 4 correlates to host computers 5 a-5 c in FIG. 3;server 30 of FIG. 4 correlates to servers 30 a-30 c of FIG. 3; accessgateway 32 of FIG. 4 correlates to access gateways 32 a and 32 b of FIG.3; and access device(s) 2 or 33 and 34 of FIG. 4 correlate to accessdevice(s) 2 or 33 and 34 of FIG. 3.

As noted before, host computer 5 manages customer specific informationstored in databases (not shown in FIG. 4). Examples of such data includeaccount balances, payment addresses and details of previoustransactions. Server 30 acts as the translator between the accessgateway 32 and the host computer 5. It extracts information frommessages passed to it by the access gateway 32, reconfigures it into aformat understandable by host computer 5 and forwards the reconfigureddata as another message to host computer 5. In addition, server 32 alsotakes data passed to it by host computer 5 via a message, reconfiguresit into a standard format that the access gateway 32 understands andforwards the message to access gateway 32. Access gateway 32 in turntakes the message received from server 30 adds appropriate addressing tothe data and forwards it to access head end 41. In addition accessgateway 32 also receives data from head end 41, extracts relevant dataand reformats into a standard message format compatible with server 30.

Head end 41 places the data and messages received from access gateway 32onto access network 42 and retrieves data from access network 42 forforwarding to access gateway 32. Access network 42 carries data to andfrom access device(s) 2 or 33 and 34 to access head end. Access deviceis typically a mobile telephone or a television/set-top box combinationand displays data to the customer. In preferred embodiments, bothdevices receive data inputs from the user which we forwarded to theappropriate host computer 5 for building data queries. In an alternativeembodiment, a telephone and television/set-top box 33 and 34 are usedtogether such that the telephone accepts data from the user while thetelevision and set-top box display the results for the user to view.

FIG. 5 is another view of an embodiment of the present invention. Manyreference numbers used in FIG. 5 are used in FIG. 4. The additionalfeatures include network connection 50 and Domain Name Server (“DNS”)51. In a preferred embodiment, network 50 is an Internet Protocol (“IP”)network that allows data, queries and instructions to be exchangedbetween servers 30. Referring back to the transfer of funds describedabove, the instructions between the United States servers 30 a and 30 bare transported on network 50. DNS 51 translates address to appropriateUniversal Resources Locator (“URL”) data.

FIG. 5 also shows another feature of the present invention. Networkconnection 50 comprises generally slower data transmission rates. Thus,servers 30 and access gateways 32 are kept to a minimum. Access gateways32 however, generally have wider bandwidths and can provide the userswith additional information such as “Your Account Balance Is” fasterthan the network connections between servers 30 and access gateways 32.Thus, by limiting the traffic between servers 30 and access gateways 32to just the basic essential business transactional level, the overallspeed of delivery is improved.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart for a process of obtaining data on an accessdevice in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Inthis process data is pushed to the appropriate access device(s) 2 or 33and 34. At block B61, an event occurs that triggers the pushing of data.Some common events include the closing of a securities market, a certaintime of day or a warning. Examples of these common events include theclosing of the New York Stock Exchange, sending headline news at 3:00p.m. each day or the issuance of a tornado warning by the NationalWeather Service. Other events are more specific to certain individuals.For example, notice of a check clearing such that the funds are nowavailable for use or the indication that a certain stock is valued at Xdollars per share at a moment in time.

Whatever the event, a signal is sent from another server associated withthe event at block B62. For example, a National Weather Service servertransmits signals to the appropriate receiving servers regarding thetornado warning being issued.

At block B63, server 30 receives that signal and packages theappropriate message along with an address so that the message is routedto the correct access gateway 32. The address is a default establishedby the customer at initiation and is either stored in a databaseassociated with the particular server 30 or the host database 5. As anexample, if the customer has the data pushed to the screen on his/hertelephone, the phone number or Mobile Identification Number is part ofthe address. Once properly encapsulated, the server 30 forwards themessage to the appropriate access gateway 32.

At block B64, the access gateway 32 receives the message and addsappropriate addressing layers to it for transmission to the desiredaccess device(s) 2 or 33 and 34. At block B65, the access devicereceives the message, decodes and/or decrypts it and displays it for thecustomer. At block B66, the process terminates.

The above embodiment describes pushing data to customers and subsequenttermination of the communications channel. The pushed data is storedlocally in the access device so that the user may read it later. Whileoff-line, in an alternative embodiment, the communications channel isleft open so that the user may respond to the pushed data. In addition,the messages may be broadcast to a plurality of customers or a singlecustomer.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart of a process in accordance with anotherembodiment of the present invention. In this process, information isprovided to the customer upon his/her request. At block B71, thecustomer uses access device 2 to dial a particular phone numberassociated with the type of data he/she wishes to receive. From onepoint of view, the customer is dialing into a particular server 30 thatis associated with a particular access gateway 32. When using thetelevision/set-top box combination as the access device, the customerusually presses a button located on set-top box 34 to begin thecommunications session with a particular server via the associatedaccess gateway 32. It should be noted that this association is a defaultassociation (i.e. most phone calls received over a phone network inSpanish will be default routed to Spanish server 30 b based on thepresumption that the caller is highly likely to be a Spanish citizenseeking information in Spanish.)

Whichever access device is used, a communications channel between accessdevice(s) 2 or 33 and 34, and host 5 is established at block B72. Thisis accomplished when the appropriate access network 42 and head end 41recognize the request to open a communications channel and open such achannel between the access device(s) 2 or 33 and 34, and the accessgateway 32. The access gateway 32 in turn initiates a communicationssession with server 30 and server 30 in turn opens and maintains acommunications session with host computer 5 that is associated withaccess gateway 32 by default.

At block B73 host computer 5 issues a message requesting a customer oraccount identification number (“CIN”) and a personal identificationnumber (“PIN”). These messages are converted into comprehensiblelanguage phrases such as “Please enter your Customer IdentificationNumber” and “Please enter your Personal Identification Number” inEnglish) by server 30 and forwarded to access gateway 32 via router 50,which encompasses router 31 a-31 c. The messages are packaged and theforwarded to access device(s) 2 or 33 and 34.

Also in block B73, the user replies by either actuating buttons, such asa touch-tone keypad on telephone 2 or set-top box 34, or by havingportions or all of that data automatically forwarded to host computer 5from a memory associated with telephone 2 or set-top box 34. This memorymay be permanent to the telephone 2 or set-top box 34 in one embodimentor it may be removable, such as a smart card or magnetic memory, inanother embodiment.

Once host computer 5 has the user's CIN and PIN, it performs a query todetermine if that user has the required data stored therein at blockB74. At block B75, the results of the query are returned to server 30where it determines if the customer's data is stored with host computer5. If the customer is not associated with host computer 5, server 30issues a query at block B76 to other servers via network 50 to determinewhere this customer's information is located (i.e. which host computer 5houses that data). When the appropriate host computer 5 is discovered,the server 30 redirects access gateway 32 to the appropriate server 30at block B77.

Alternatively, if the host computer 5 first queried contains the desireddata, a security check is performed to determine if the received PIN isassociated with received CIN at block B78. If the data fails thesecurity, the process returns to block B73 where the customer isprompted again to enter the appropriate data. If the CIN and PIN arecorrect, host computer 5 provides data related to a menu that lists itsservices at block B79. For banking services, typical menu selectionsinclude checking account balances and making a transaction. For shoppingservices, the menu may include departments of items, payment options,etc. Once the customer makes a selection at block B80, the request fordata is transmitted from the access device(s) 2 or 33 and 34 to hostcomputer 5. In response, host computer 5 transmits the requested databack to access device(s) 2 or 33 and 34.

At block B81, the customer or the system determines if the customerrequires more data. If he/she does, the process returns to block B79. Ifthe customer is finished, the communication channel is broken and theprocess ends.

In order to explain the process described in FIG. 7, a specificnon-limiting example using a single individual will be described inconjunction with FIG. 3. A United States customer of a particular bankis planning a trip to Europe. Before embarking, he/she uses telephone 2to check his/her checking account balance with the bank. By initiatingthe communications session with access gateway 32 a, his/her connectionis established via router 31 a directly to server 30 a. Thus, server 30a is associated with access gateway 32 a by default. Server 30 aestablishes a communications session with host 5 a.

Host computer 5 a prompts the customer for his/her CIN and PIN. Server 5a translates these messages into voice phrases such as “Please enteryour Customer Identification Number” and “Please enter your PersonalIdentification Number.” In addition, server 30 a adds addressing data sothat the prompts are routed to the particular telephone 2 the customeris using via router 31 a and access gateway 32 a.

After reviewing his/her balance, the customer disconnects and dials adifferent number to determine his/her credit card balance. Accessgateway 32 a establishes a connection with the bank account host 5 a andin response host 5 a prompts the customer for his/her customeridentification number and personal identification number as noted above.The customer enters his or her credit card number and this is forwardedto host server 5 a. Host server 5 a determines that these customer andpersonal identification numbers are not stored in database 6 a. Hostserver 5 a informs server 30 a that the customer entered data does notcorrelate with any data stored in database 6 a. Server 30 a broadcasts aquery looking for the appropriate database that stores the data relatedto the customer entered data. Routers 31 a and 31 c route the query toserver 30 c. Host 5 c and database 6 c recognize the customer data,verify it for correctness (i.e. is the PIN correct for the CIN) andinform server 30 a that the customer should be interfacing with itinstead of server 30 a. Server 30 a incorporates the address of server30 c into an instruction and forwards the instruction to access gateway32 a.

Upon receipt of the instruction, access gateway 32 a associates all datacoming from and directed to the customer to server 30 c. Host 5 coutputs the credit card balance to server 30 c which then forwards it tothe telephone 2 via access gateway 32 a and routers 31 a and 31 c.

So far, this customer has dialed only one telephone number, albeit twotimes, to receive distinctly different data located in two distinctlydifferent databases. The customer has no idea how the various elementsinteracted to provide that requested data.

A week later, the customer is staying with relatives in Spain and he/shewishes to account for his or her vacation expenses to date. Therelatives have a set-top box 34 coupled to their television 33. Thecustomer dials into the system using the set-top box 34 and a connectionis established with access gateway 32 b as that is the device thatsupports set-top box 34. Access gateway 32 b establishes a connectionwith server 30 b via router 31 b. Server 30 b establishes acommunications session with host computer 5 b. Host computer 5 btransmits data requesting the customer to enter his/her CIN and PIN.This data is routed to access gateway 32 b via router 31 b andsubsequently to set-top box 34 and television 33. The access gatewaytakes the data received from server 30 b and router 31 b and formats itfor the screen of television. Set-top box 34 demodulates/decodes thedata, and forwards it to television 33 where it is displayed.

The United States customer is now viewing a screen with two questions onit. The first is “Por favor entre su numero de la tarjeta que quienesusar para ente servicio,” which roughly translates to “Please enter yournumber associated with the service you desire to use.” The secondquestion is “Por favor marke su numero personal que lo identifica austed,” which roughly translates to “Please mark, or type, in yourpersonal identification number.” The United States customer will notknow what the two questions are asking for, but will know that thissystem only asks two questions where the first requests his/her CIN andthe second requests his/her PIN. The customer enters his/her CINassociated with the desired credit card service supported by equipmentin the United States. In this preferred embodiment, all host computers 5and server 30 are programmed to begin a session with these two questionsand all users of the system anticipate receiving these two questions atthe beginning. It is therefore unnecessary for the user to translate thelanguage before entering the data.

The CIN and PIN are routed to server 30 b which forwards them tocomputer 5 b for verification against the data stored in database 6 b.Host 5 b returns messages indicating that the CIN does not correlate todata stored in database 6 b. Server 30 b issues a query that includesthe CIN and PIN across an internal network 50 in FIG. 5, so as to locatethe host computer and database that correlate to the entered CIN andPIN.

Server 30 c receives the broadcast message and forwards the CIN and PINto host computer 5 c. Host 5 c forwards a query to database 6 c todetermine if that database stores data related to the CIN and PIN. Host5 c returns an affirmative response that server 30 c uses to issue aninstruction to access gateway device 32 b to forward all data from thecustomer to it instead of server 30 b. Access gateway responds byestablishing this routing pattern through routers 31 b and 31 c

This second part of the example shows how the customer may establish aninexpensive or low cost connection with the server he/she desires. Theconnection between the set-top box 34 and access gateway 32 b is a localconnection and presumably free or at least less expensive than if thecustomer had to use a telephone to dial into the United States to obtainaccess to the desired data.

Another feature is the ease of translation. Server 30 b is designed toprovide phrases in Spanish. After the initial prompting for thecustomer's CIN and PIN, the customer is connected to server 30 c forreceiving English based prompts and presentations of data (i.e. it willprovide the phrases “Your account balance is ______”). Thus, thecustomer is able to retrieve and utilize the requested data in thepreferred language.

Another advantage is the universality with which servers 30 a-30 cinterface with different access gateways and thereby different accessdevices. The servers 30 a-30 c provide the data such as account balancesand the phrases such as “Your account balance is” to the access gatewaydevices which then format the data to fit a screen on a mobiletelephone, a hand held computer, a personal digital assistant ortelevision screen.

The process shown in FIG. 7 is adaptable to many user modes ofoperation. In addition to the conversational mode where the userrequests data via telephone 2 or television/set-top box combination33/34, and receives responses continuously as shown by the loop ofblocks B79-B81 of FIG. 7, the present invention also operates so thatthe user receives information all at once.

An example of this all in one mode includes a default function. The usermay own a specific pager or set-top box device that only retrievescurrent account balances for a selected account. Such a pager or set-topbox has a toggle switch from which the user selects whether he/shewishes to receive the balance of a checking account, a savings accountor a credit card account. In other embodiments, the device isprogrammable such that it defaults to requesting specific information.Thus, upon initial set-up or later during a reprogramming phaseinitiated by the user, the user establishes the default to be theretrieval of a specific account balance. This data is typically storedin ROM within the telephone 2 or the set-top box 34. In yet anotherembodiment, the default request may be made by inserting a removableROM, such as a smart card, into the telephone 2 or set-top box 34. Afterthe requested data is forwarded to the user, the communication channelis disconnected.

In another embodiment of all in one retrieval, the user selects anoption from a menu provided and after the user receives the requestedinformation, the session ends. This operational mode differs from theabove default mode in that the user is given a menu of options to chosefrom dynamically instead of defaulting to one type of data retrieval. Inaddition, this method again differs from the continuous loop of blocksB79-B81 of FIG. 7 in that as soon as the data is delivered, thecommunications channel is terminated. As a point of reference, thisprocess is much like a DOS™/UNIX™ command line prompt. After the usermakes his/her request for data, the access device waits for the nextinstruction.

In yet another embodiment of the all in one mode of receiving data, theuser requests data fit for a template or a form. The basic informationis provided such as the number of the account and the account balancenumber. The phrases such as “Account Number” and “Account Balance” arestored in a template locally to the telephone 2 or the set-top box 34.The user gets a view of the template without the user specific data anddecides that this is the data that he/she desires to view. Dataidentifying to that template is sent to server 30, where it translatesthat data into queries that computer host 50 understands. The server 30returns the requested data and the access device(s) 2 or 33 and 34merges the locally stored template or form data with the received datato form a composite screen that is understandable by the user. Anexample of the use of such a set-top box is described in co-pending U.S.utility application Ser. No. 09/433,867 and corresponding U.S.provisional application Nos. 60/107,488, 60/109,937 and 60/111,264entitled “SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR INTEGRATING VIDEO, AUDIO AND MOBILERADIOTELEPHONE TECHNOLOGY” filed on Nov. 6, 1999, Nov. 6, 1998, Nov. 25,1998 and Dec. 7, 1998, respectively, which are incorporated herein byreference.

One advantage of the template/forms application is the ability for theuser to enter data into the blank template/form while the access deviceis off-line. In this manner, the user may carefully consider whatinformation he/she wishes to review before establishing a connectionwith any other device and potentially incurring costs. As an example,some templates/forms include “Paying a Bill” or “Making a Transfer.”

While the above has been described using specific examples, it isapparent to those of ordinary skill that alternative embodiments arepossible without departing from the scope of the present invention.

It should be noted that alternative methods include contacting serversoutside of a proprietary circle via the IP network. For example, if acustomer of bank A accesses server 30 associated with bank B, bankserver B will forward that request to bank server A so that the customermay obtain his/her data even though the customer is not a customer ofbank B.

In another alternative embodiment, the messages transmitted between theserver 30, access gateway 32 and access device(s) 2 or 33 and 34 isencrypted to improve security. In another alternative embodiment, thedata transmission between the access gateway and the access device arenot encrypted, while the message exchange between the servers and accessgateways are encrypted.

In addition to the services and transactions provided above, it shouldbe obvious to one of ordinary skill to implement other services andtransactions on the claimed system without departing from the scope ofthe present invention. For example, bill payments, fund transfers,adding a payee, real message transfer between customers, stop payment,and buy and sell shares of stock.

As a corollary, more complex functions may be provided for in thefuture. For example, server 30 may be programmed to run a spreadsheetapplication across a user's expanses. The results are then transferredto telephone 2 where it is graphically displayed like in a pie chart.

It should also be understood by those of ordinary skill that wile thepresent invention is capable of providing information in acceptableformats for non-Web or non-HTML compatible devices, it is also possibleto merge Web-based and Internet-based applications on server 30. Thus, auser may use his/her phone or set-top box/television combination toreceive e-mail, Web pages, voice mail and information in accordance withthe above embodiments.

Finally, it should also be noted that the present invention may beimplemented using the OSI standard or a combination of OSI and TCP/IP.

1-6. (canceled)
 7. A method for rerouting a communication pathcomprising: establishing a communication path to a first server via afirst network; receiving input data from a source; determining if theinput data correlates to data associated with the first server;broadcasting a query that includes portions of the input data from thefirst server over a second network; receiving the query at a secondserver; determining if the broadcast portions of the input datacorrelate to data associated with the second server; issuing aninstruction from the second server to the first server via the secondnetwork indicating that the source of the input data should be coupledto the second server; and acting upon those instructions at the firstserver and within the second network to couple the source of the inputdata to the second server.
 8. The method of claim 7 wherein the secondnetwork contains routers that are used to couple the source of the inputdata to the second server.
 9. The method of claim 7 wherein the dataformats of the input data and the query are different.
 10. The method ofclaim 9 wherein the first network has a greater capability to carry datathan the second network.
 11. The method of claim 10 wherein the greatercapability is measured in bandwidth. 12-17. (canceled)